CASAs Support the Educational Rights and Needs of Children in Foster Care

LANCASTER, PA (August 14, 2018) – School, for children in foster care, is a very difficult place, where academic failure and behavior problems are the norm. Over half of the 437,465 children in the U.S. foster care system are students between the ages of 6 and 19. Considering how profoundly education impacts lifelong outcomes, how can community members, like you, ensure a young person’s educational well-being amid multiple moves and chaotic family dynamics? By becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).

CASA Volunteer advocates listen first and then act. How? By gathering information:Interviewing the child, school personnel, case workers, and placement facility staff about child’s education needs. Review appropriate school reports, assessments/evaluations, and education records. Attend school meetings when asked to do so by the school. Observe the child in class, with classmates, with other and school personnel.

After speaking with the child and others involved in the child’s life, CASAs provide these facts in report-form to the judge and speak for the child in the courtroom. Are you ready to be the anchor a child desperately needs to stay in school, to keep moving forward, to make the choices that get them safely out of foster care? The abuse and neglect of children is devastating. We are all affected by this issue. Please contact CASA and learn how you can help make Lancaster County a place where every child grows up in a home free of abuse and neglect by calling (717) 208-3280 or emailing casa@casalancaster.org.